1 Daddy and 3 Girls!!!

So, I know that I have not posted for a while because life is crazy. I am still trying to adjust to teaching full time, being a mom and wife, and being pregnant. It is a lot harder than I thought!! I try to spend every extra minute I have with Brylee and so when I get home there is not a lot of time for anything else. Once she goes to bed for the night, I usually end up working on lesson plans or grading papers!!
Last Wednesday, we had our ultrasound to see if we were having a boy or a girl-- Well, from the title I bet you can already tell that we are having another baby girl!! We are extremely excited and yet so nervous at the same time. The baby looks great and everything is developing well. So, a couple questions for those who have kids. When you were pregnant did you have any cysts? I had one with Brylee, but it never got very big. Then with this one, I had an ultrasound at 12 weeks and it was measuring 3.4cm and now at 21 weeks it is measuring 5.6 cm. I am not sure if this is something I should be concerned about, but it does cause some pain. Is there anything I can do??
Anyway, I am exausted but just wanted to let everyone know that we are having a GIRL!! My school class is helping with name suggestions, (it has become one of their favorite things)!!!! Hopefully we will pick a name a lot quicker than we did with Brylee!!!

Our LIttle Brylee is One!!

So, it has a been a while since I posted and I even have a good excuse this time. Those of you who have ever been a first year teacher will understand what this past month has been like!!!

Brylee turned one on August 8th and I can't even believe it. We celebrated that evening with Cory's family by having a sleepover in Alpine. Brylee thought it was great to be able to play with all of her cousins. She ate a little bit of cake, but then she threw a fit because everybody was watching her. She was so fun and it is so hard to believe that she is already a year. Then on Saturday we woke up (of course she was the last to bed and the first to wake up) and went to the Alpine Days parade. She got so much candy and lots of toys, she was in heaven.

On Sunday, we celebrated at our house with my family and our friends. She was so cute at first until I gave her the cake. Once again, she did not like that everyone was watching her and so we just let her down to play. She loved just crawling around. She got some fun gifts and we are so thankful for our family and friends that love her so much.

I am not sure where I would be without Brylee in my life. She brings so much joy and happiness. She is growing and learning new things everyday. I love that she says Mom when I come home after working all day and I am jealous that she is more of a daddy's girl than a mommy's girl. Cory and I are grateful everyday that she has had a very healthy first year of life based on the way she started life. She is growing and if you look at her, you would never know that she was a premie.

I will post some pictures that Cory took, he did a great job! (okay, I will have to post pictures later because he has the memory card!) Sorry this post is so late, but life has been crazy!!!

Happy First Birthday, Brylee Sue!!!

Can our lives get any crazier????

It has been a while since I have done anything!!! This summer has been so fun and I have been glad that I have been able to spend it at home with Brylee. She has been learning and doing so many new things. She is pulling herself up to everything in the house and this of course comes with a lot of falling and hitting her head. She loves to get into Cory's games and game systems, they are of course the first items she goes for. I am waiting for her to walk anytime, she loves to stand and can not quite figure out how to walk along things. She will walk with my grandmas walker and a toy at my moms, but she can't walk along the furniture yet. She is growing up to fast!! Her first birthday is on August 8th and I can't believe it. She is also starting to eat more foods. Our Doctor had us wait a little while to feed her solids and now she loves them! Cory of course likes to feed her the sweet things, marshmallows from the Lucky Charms, Ice Cream, Fudge Stripe cookies, and many other things. She is so fun and I am sad that it is almost time to go back to school.

Next, I start back to work in a couple of weeks. I have to attend the new teacher training next week since I only taught a half of year last year. So, I will do that and then it is back to work the next week. I am more excited to teach sixth grade now since I have been learning everything! I know that sounds crazy, but I have had to study up a little on some things. My team has been really willing to help me and luckily they are patient!!! There are so many mixed feelings because I love being a mom and yet I love being a teacher and so what better way to get to help kids and well as spend the whole summer with my family.

Cory and I celebrated our 5th anniversary on July 12th. He suprised me by taking me to the Stein Ericksen Lodge for the night. We had a great time just being together. It was hard to leave Brylee and I was missing her!!! The lodge was so nice. It is too bad that we aren't rich and can't stay there more often. I can't believe it has been five years already. He is so amazing and patient with me. I still remember when we went out in 9th grade and then we stayed best friends through high school. Then of course, we started dating a month or so before his mission. I am extremely glad that I have been blessed with him in my life!!! I love him so much!!!!

The 24th of July was fun, as usual. My cousin and her friend came from California and so it was great to spend some time with them. We watched the parade, did craft projects, played games, and of course ate lots of food. It is always fun to have them come for Fiesta Days.

And last--- I have been extremely sick this summer!!!!!!!! I am sure that most of you know what that means--- yes, I am pregnant!!! again!!!! Cory and I laugh because we waited forever to have Brylee and we weren't even prepared to have her and then I swore that I would never be pregnant again because I was so miserable, and obviously there are other plans for us. I am 13 weeks along and am finally starting to feel a little bit better. We are due on January 31st. We aren't sure how we are going to make things work, but I just hope this pregnancy is easier than my first one. We had an ultra sound a few weeks ago and it was good!! I just can't believe that I am doing this again, so fast.

All of the pictures we have taken lately are on Cory's camera and so I will have to post them later.

A Quick Little Update...

So, there is a lot to update about what has been going on in our lives lately. A couple of weeks ago Brylee and I were getting ready to head to Las Vegas and so I dropped her off at moms while I finished some last minute things up at the studio. When I went to pick her up, Mom said she had been crawling. I was so excited and yet sad at the same time that she did it with Grandma first. It is so fun to watch her and her knees are raw.

We took a trip to Vegas for a dance competition and we had a blast. My mom came down to tend Brylee and they enjoyed hanging out in the pool while I attended workshops. On Thursday, mom and Brylee flew home with Angela to attend a funeral. That was the first time that Brylee had flown on an airplane and mom said she did great until the landing. Her ears were killing her and they said she was screaming. I was sad that mom had to deal with that, but she insisted on bringing her home.

The dance competition went well and the girls did great. Our show won and they placed well in each of their team routines. I am so lucky to have the chance to work with such great girls. I try to picture myself without them and I can't. While we were there, the girls had the chance to do a workshop with Sabra Johnson, the winner of "So You Think You Can Dance!" They had a lot of fun and she was great. Our soloist did well also!! Besides the heat, we had a great weekend! I will post a picture of my niece with Sabra.

I was so excited to get home and see Brylee, I was missing her tons. She was such a good girl and I was glad she hadn't forgot who we were. I am so lucky have such great parents and in-laws that are so willing to tend and help whenever.

Brylee is now crawling all over the house and of course getting into everything she shouldn't. I am constantly behind her telling her no. I finally had to close up the entertainment center because she kept getting her legs stuck under it. I am not sure what we are going to do with all the DVD and games that we have on the shelves. Now, she is trying to stand!! She wants to stand on her own and she just can't. She pulls herself up to everything and anything she can reach. Anyway, she is a lot of fun and I am having a hard time believing that she is almost one! We have had so much fun with her.

I am enjoying just being home and have been really tired, so needless to say I haven't got much done. I keep telling myself that I will do it tomorrow and then tomorrow comes and it doesn't get done. I feel like I got more done when I was working because I had to!! I have enjoyed being home with Brylee and taking part in all of her fun moments.

Cory and I have had a lot of fun being home in the evenings and doing things together. It is nice to have that time together. We are continually working on our yard and trying to figure out why we can't keep our flowers alive. (I am the worst!) Anyway, there is a quick update on our life and a few pictures that we have taken lately.

Happy Father's Day!!!

I think that Brylee and I both agree that our dad is the greatest ever!!

First of all, he is so cute with Brylee. He always gets her out of the crib in the morning and never complains about it. Infact this morning was one of the best times. Of course she woke up early today and so Cory went and got her because she was talking so loud in her crib. When she came in to our bed, she wanted to crawl all over and Cory was entertaining her. Then she crashed, Cory had his arm around her and she was sound asleep sucking her thumb. Then she woke up an hour later and was ready to play again. Cory started talking to her and she just kept saying, dada dada!! He was so excited!!

Second, he never complains when he has Brylee. He is so excited to play and entertain her and I can tell because she is a total daddy's girl. He takes time to try new things with her and of course can't wait for the day when he thinks she will be ready to ride motorcycles. (He does not want her to be a dancer, he says they come with way to much to drama!)

Third, he always changes the yucky diapers. I don't know what it is but Brylee always waits till Daddy gets home to make messes and then he gets to change them, and only once and a while he complains.

Fourth, he gets her ready in the morning when I have to go to work. This even means putting lotion on her (which he doesn't like) but he does it for me because I like her to smell fresh.

Fifth, on his days off he loves to spend the day with her. He takes her to do all sorts of stuff and is always looking for new places to take her.

And sixth, I LOVE HIM for so many reasons. He has been the greatest dad and husband to Brylee and I. When I thought I couldn't get through one more thing this last year, he kept encouraging me and helping me. He would get up at night with Brylee when she was little and take a turn. He works so hard and always makes sure that he is providing for our family. I love it because he cooks most of the meals and he is great at it. Most of all, I love him because he makes me happy!!! He treats me like a queen and is always trying to make sure things are perfect.

I am sure that there are many more things that I can't think of right now, but we just want him to know what a great dad he is!!

Happy Father's Day Dad!!!! We love you!!!

Kung Fu Panda.....

Today we took Brylee to her very first movie. We originally had planned to go to Lagoon with Justin, Angela, and the boys but when the weather turned out cold we decided not to go. So, we decided to go to Kung Fu Panda instead. I was thinking that Brylee was going to enjoy watching the movie, and she did the complete opposite. She started off okay and then she got louder and louder!!! I decided I would take her in the little hallway and she was playing around, but at least she wasn't making loud noises. After a little while, I decided to try and sit in the front (talk about hurting my neck) and she started to cuddle her blanket and then went right to sleep. I was laughing because she was sound asleep as the movie was so loud it was shaking the theater. Anyway, we had a great time and I think we will wait a while before we take Brylee to anymore movies.

The Zoo!!

Last Monday, Cory and I took Brylee to the Zoo. On our way there, we dropped some stuff off to Cory's brother Greg and so he decided to join us. It was so good to have him around. He took the majority of the pictures and did a great job. Cory has wanted to take Brylee to the Zoo for a few months now and he finally had a day off to do it. The weather was overcast and it was perfect. She didn't really know what to think of all the animals. We spent most of the time trying to get her to pay attention to the animals instead of us. Her very favorite exhibit was the penguins. I don't know if it was because they were constantly moving and splashing around, or what it was. After the zoo, we went to eat at Rocky Mountain Pizza Co. where Greg works and it was really good. Overall, we had a great day. Brylee slept the whole way home, she was very tired.



The white alligator!!


Cory and Brylee!


Oh!! She is still so small!!


Our little family!!